Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon in which people, either when falling asleep or wakening, temporarily experience an inability to move. It is a transition state between wakefulness and rest characterized by complete muscle atonia (muscle weakness). It can occur at sleep onset or upon awakening, and it is often associated with terrifying visions, such as an intruder in the room, to which one is unable to react due to paralysis. It is believed to be a result of disrupted REM sleep, which is normally ...

Ratel
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2013-10-31T19:45:57Z —
#4

"The fold! The fold!" --weeping RSS reader.

devophill
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2013-11-01T21:40:34Z —
#5

A fantastic story, I could hear Nate's voice in my head as I read it. One note, Mattoon is misspelled a few times in the middle as Matton. Don't want the eventual print version messed up! (I will totally buy one.)

greenberger
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2013-11-04T22:30:18Z —
#6

I enjoyed this- but why is the psychologist's theory about women missing their WWII husbands icky and sexist? Seems plausible to me, that a group of people used to having their significant other around and then having to deal with a prolonged absence might be a bit more edgy than usual when sleeping at night. It could be total BS too, but it's as good a guess as many other guesses into a common thread that could factor into mass hysteria. I certainly wouldn't call it sexist, just incorrect, at worst. Is such a thing beyond our imagination in our new politically-correct century?